Childs Play
by Deo
Summary: Aeryn meets up with 'dear mother' before 'Realativity'. Third person and First: Please review!
1. Stubbornness

Childs Play.  
  
  
Chapter 1: Stubbornness  
  
Author: Deo CFJOHNSON99@KESTEVENGRANTHAM.LINCS.SCH.UK  
Summary: Aeryn Meets up with her mother before Relativity, and is made little again. Talyns crew race to return her to her old state.  
Setting: Season 3 before Relativity  
Disclaimer: They're not mine, Blah, blah, blah...  
Rating: PG.  
Notes: Thanks to Beak for back up, and Charly for reading it first. This story starts from Rygels point of view, then switches to 3rd Person Narrative, then to Aeryn, then back, etc.   
* * * * *  
Rygel.  
  
'I don't care, she has to go down alone!' Once again, both Crais' and Crichtons voices are echoing through Talyns corridors, ripping me from my dreams, and depositing me back into the squalid cell, that I have the 'liberty' of calling my quarters, even though I am forced to share them with a Banik slave. It's still surprising that I can get any sleep at all, what with that idiot dithering around in the corners. Ah, they're fading away, finally I can return to my wealth- ridden dreams. No, wait; they're back, and Aeryn has joined them. Frell.  
  
* * * * *  
'I don't care, she has to go down alone!' Crais and Crichton were bickering again, loudly, outside of Rygel and Starks shared quarters, Both believing themselves to be right, and both making their points known, in what appeared, to the innocent intruder, to be a shouting match.  
  
'Why? Not only is it stupid and dangerous, we always wok together, when it comes to planetary expeditions.' Crichton was livid, hating Crais for his bluntness, and himself for the pain he was causing, in his care for Aeryn. Hopefully, she was still asleep, oblivious to the conflict over her, occurring as she dreamt.  
  
'The planet supports a female inhabited society, and the leaders will nit tolerate any male creature within the atmosphere. Even Talyn is not allowed any closer. No male is, apart from in extreme cases, and ours, isn't. 'Crais countered his feelings on the matter, barely listening as John muttered; 'I wonder what they are', and continued: 'and we badly need the cromexton that she can get for us.' Crichton's brain was struggling to find a suitable reply, his usually deft verbal skills, non-existent in the face of his fury. He resorted to offending the Captain;  
  
'Well, you dress up and go down yourself! God knows, you look enough like a girl anyway.'  
  
'What's going on? 'Aeryns tired form had appeared in the corridor before them, her face and voice registering puzzlement. Crais turned to her, and began pacing, smiling smugly as he filled her in.  
  
'Commander Crichton and I have been having a little 'discussion' about the planet I informed you of earlier.'  
  
'You 'informed' me, of sixteen planets earlier,' Aeryn deadpanned.' And about ten other things that | have completely forgotten about. What's the problem?'  
  
'It's the one called Zectal.' Crais reminded her, watching her face as she recalled the details. 'The one with the female inhabited society.'   
  
'He wants you to go down alone!'  
  
'Do you see any other females on board?'  
  
'Hell, who knows what you are, you could be anything for all I know...  
  
'I am not...' Crais began, before being stopped himself, by John muttering; 'Or care'. Meanwhile, Aeryn had been looking on as the two men argued, thinking over the problem at hand, and how to solve it. She turned to Crichton;  
  
'I'm perfectly capable of getting the cromexton on my own, John. I don't need you to hold my hand.' Aeryn was also stubborn about the subject, even though she knew her heart wasn't in her words. In another situation, she would have been glad for his company, but that wasn't possible. She watched as his face slackened, taking on the expression of a child who has been deprived of a new toy. He opened his mouth, to protest, but she raised an ebony eyebrow at him, her eyes daring him to speak. With a resignated sigh, he turned and stared daggers at Crais, as they discussed procedures.   
  
* * * * *  
Aeryn.  
  
Why do Crais and Crichton fight so much? Even Rygel has noticed it; it gives him something to moan about. My hands know the controls of this transport pod of by heart now, so I don't need to concentrate on procedures. Only the distant crackle of the comms are reminding me of the mission at hand. 1. Wake up. 2. Get Cromexton. 3. Get the hell of the planet. Simple.  
  
* * * * *   
  
Aeryn walked through the market place, warily keeping an eye out for possible threats behind the disintegrating stalls. Crais had informed her that she would need to speak to a royal, either the Queen or her younger brother, and get them to authorise a transfer of Cromexton to Talyn. Row after row of merchants smiled nervously at her, as though she posed a threat, but was still a possible customer. All of the stores bore a mixture of items; food, clothes, machinery, jewellery, but not one had anything of use to her, not even the clothes, many of which she wouldn't be caught dead wearing. She reached the end of one column, and turned to enter the next.  
  
Pffssst! A sharp sting hit her in the side of her neck; a vicious metal barb with tainted hooks. She had been hit with a tranquilliser, worse, a peacekeeper one. Aeryn veered off course, heading for a decrypt abandoned dwelling to her right, and broke into a run, comming Crais at the same time;   
  
'Crais, track me, I've been hit by a peacekeeper tranquilliser. I'm not going to be conscious much longer, so hurry!' She could hear the startled Captain on the other end of the comm. swearing to himself as he and Talyn programmed a tracking signal. She collapsed just inside the door of the building, her legs refusing to work beneath her, to keep running. The last thing Aeryn was aware of as a dark cloud enveloped her, was Crichton screaming, at her, at Crais, at all who would listen, that it was the Captains fault, as he struggled to reach the panels that would allow them to track her.   
  
* * * * *   
Crichton.  
  
She's gone, lost. the only comfort left to me is a barely registering blip on a blank screen; telling me she's alive. I can feel my anger building up in me, filling the empty space that shock left behind. I turn to Crais, who looks shocked too, obviously his brain hasn't fully conveyed what just happened.  
  
'What the frell did I tell you|? I told you this would go wrong, we should have found another source, I...'  
  
'Crichton, be quiet.'   
  
He interrupted me. How dare he! It's not my fault this entire operation just collapsed. What! That that blip telling me my Aeryn is still alive has been replaced by a comm. channel. Before I can protest, he interrupts me yet again:  
  
'You can still hear the signal, Crichton,' so I can.' Before you as, I'm opening up a comm. channel to the palace on that planet. You need permission to go down there. Unfortunately, this is now an extreme case.'   
  
* * * * *   
  
Crichton watched as Crais hailed the palace, requesting to be patched through immediatly. He could hear the beat of Aeryns heart, rolling around in his head, like a slow motion drum roll. A beat that could stop at any moment. He waited. 


	2. Detachment

Childs Play: Chapter 2: Detachment.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Thanks to most of those who reviewed the first chapter of this story, namely ArcheonLord and Beak (yes, the same one as my back up in chapter 1): It is nice to be praised every once in a while, but please, keep on reviewing!  
  
Sorry this chapter took so long in coming, but hey, I hate typing almost as much as the gap between seasons. Sorry!  
  
* * * * *  
  
Aeryn groaned. She had only just regained consciousness, and the first thing she became aware of was the dust, a huge quantity of it, billowing and swirling around her. Her arms were cuffed above her head, attached to a threateningly ancient ceiling beam via a rope, pulling her up on the tips of her boots, hanging in a dimly lit room, alone. Or was she. A shadow detached itself from the gloom in front of her, coming in to the light spilled from a rusty chandelier. The shadow bore a face; a face scared and lined, a face that she had only ever seen once. It was her mother.  
  
She stared into the slightly sneering face, bewilderment crossing her own. Suddenly the woman before her lashed out, slashing her hard across the face. She burst out:  
  
'What did you think you were doing?' Her mothers' dark eyes bore into her own, revealing hatred. 'You pathetic traitor!'  
  
Aeryn stared into Xhalax's eyes, lost in the moment, her brain ordering her to say something, her mouth unruly, and disobeying. She watched as Xhalax stepped back slightly, almost as if she was trying to get a better view of her. Her facial expressions blanked momentarily, then switched back to scorn.  
  
'Never mind. Fortunately, we now have a way of erasing the past completely,' She began to circle Aeryn threateningly. 'Now, I can return you to another state of mind, let you relive another life, in place of the one you wasted...'  
  
'What?' Aeryn was already tensed; what was she talking about? Her mother drew a small syringe from her pocket, with a small vial of clear liquid.  
  
'Do you know what this is? No, of course you don't, you had defected long before this technology was fully researched. This is De-chronomination serum. Can you guess what it does.' Aeryn shook her head.' It will change any person back to an age in their past, any age that I choose. How would you like to go back to being a perfect peacekeeper child, the one I went to see that night. No matter, you are, anyway, regardless of what you want. I think six will be a good age for you to return to, you can be re-influenced then.'  
  
Aeryn stared at her mother, words evading her completely, at the knowledge of what her own mother was going to do to her: Transform her mind and body back to the past, erasing her memories from then on. Taking her back to the time before.  
  
'You can't...' she whispered painfully, her throat was sore and dialogue choked her.  
  
'I can,' Her mothers' devious expression drilled in to her conscience, only two words cementing an outcome in her mind. 'And I'm going to. You will have another chance, and you won't waste it.' Her mothers eyes took on a faraway expression, as if she was lost in memories. 'You have your fathers hands.'  
  
She loaded the liquid into the syringe, checking that not a drop was spilt. Smiling wickedly, she waved the syringe in Aeryns face, waiting for her daughter to flinch. She didn't, her eyes conveying a silent message: If you do this now, I will kill you. Xhalax ignored her, and stabbed the needle into her arm, in a place where she knew it would hurt. Still Aeryn didn't flinch. Then she was injected.  
  
Fire! A burning sensation that filled Aeryns body, swamping her. She writhed, her hands still cuffed above her head, an unseen power over taking her self-control. Dimly, she could see her mother in front of her, she had stepped back, and was smiling. Her feet left the floor, she was shrinking fast, hanging from her cuffs. She was twisting, convulsing, shrinking. It stopped.  
  
The first thought that entered her head was of pain. A thousand heated pins could not compare. She was hanging by her wrists, staring at the woman in front of her. Who was she?  
  
* * * * *  
  
Xhalax  
  
Hah! It worked. She is back to a child again; the same child that I went to see that night: only a few solar days ago, in her memory, a lifetime ago for me. I reach up and undo the rope attaching her tot he ceiling. She fell, landing cat like on all fours before straightening up. Like a proper peacekeeper cadet. The carefully rehearsed plan that I have thought up, faltering momentarily in my brain, before clearing out. I saluted her as an official would a minor, watching as she returned the gesture smartly, her face neutral and guarded.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Aeryn fell, natural reflexes making sure that she did not hurt herself unnecessarily. She straightened her spine, snapping to attention, staring curiously at the woman in front of her, the one who had claimed to be her mother only a few days ago. She watched as emotions flickered across her face, and she saluted, a gesture Aeryn returned.  
  
"Do you know why you're here?" She was pacing now, her voice bearing the clipped precise tone of a leading officer.  
  
"No." The young girl replied, her voice bearing the eager tone of a young cadet.  
  
"You have been chosen, above all of your other classmates for this special line up of education. Retrieval," the girl looked up curiously, she had not expected this; "Follow me."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Crichton flew a transport pod down to the planet, seething. Ok. so he'd got permission to go down there, but he should have been able to go in the first place. Then, none of this would have happened. All he had brought was a tracker and Winowna. That way he could find her, and kill anyone getting in the way.  
  
It was this thought that made him realise how much he changed. He knew that he had; no-one could evolve from a rock scientist to a killer without realising. But he had expanded in so many ways. And now, one of his reasons for living was being threatened, and he was mad. He touched down on the landing pad he had been directed to. Opening the hatch, he jumped out, into the light of four suns, one red blue yellow and green. Strangely, there was not a lot of heat radiating down; anyone would have expected a humid climate, but it was temperate.  
  
"Are you John Crichton?" a voice behind him asked. He jumped, the last time he was asked that, they had nearly all been killed in an attempt at cleansing a holy ground. He turned.  
  
A young girl of around fourteen cycles, with creamy pink skin and startling red eyes, stood there. She asked again.  
  
"Yeah, that's me." He replied, grinning.  
  
"I have to take you to meet our queen."  
  
"No! I can't, one of my ship mates is in danger on this damn planet, and you are wasting my time!"  
  
"She insists." The girl smiled, weakly. "She would like to, judge your character."  
  
"Look, tell her I'll see her later…"  
  
"No! You have to come now! Follow me." With a resignated sigh, John followed her, reasoning that it would probably only take a few seconds, and that he'd get lost without someone who knew the planets terrain. The atmosphere was weakening Aeryn's signal.  
  
* * * * *  
  
1 Stark  
  
Everyone thinks I'm insane, on this ship, but I'm not! I'm not insane! A little upset at losing Aeryn though. Crais has already tried to stop me from coming Crichton, but I managed it, just before he got into their palace. May his deity guide him. 


End file.
